Ellie, The Little Mermaid and Broadway!

This entry is a bit overdue, so allow me to just plunge into it.

This past Saturday, I took my niece (and Godchild) Ellie, to see Disney's The Little Mermaid on Broadway. It was just the two of us girls on the town, making a cool Saturday night of it. The evening started off a bit shaky after her parents handed her over to me in Queens, like a clandestine trade off in the dark of night at an undisclosed location. I know it sounds corny, but I needed the drama. My GPS made me take a wrong turn, and for the briefest of moments, Ellie and I were lost in Brooklyn!! I managed to calm myself, after calling my brother and re-route the GPS to find its way.

Anyway, once we reached the City, it was seriously like rush hour on a Monday! There was excessive traffic, construction, and pedestrians and more everywhere we went. No joke, we stood motionless in the car on 46th street for over 10 minutes!! When we finally reached the parking garage, I pulled in, freed the child of her car seat, threw the keys at the guy and ran. We had a date with a mermaid!! Although I kept telling Ellie that we were going to see The Little Mermaid, she was on more familiar terms and only referred to the show as us going to see Ariel.

Shockingly, we made it to our great orchestra seats with time to spare. Taking advantage, we left our coats and Playbills on the seats and headed to the concession and souvenir area. We weren't hungry yet. At least that is what Ellie told me, so instead we made our way to the stand where all the little girls and boys were gathered, alongside their adults-in-tow. All around magical things were being sold - among these were gold forks used as combs, magical mirrors, seashell handbags, pins, key chains and programs, CD soundtracks of the show, posters, snow globes and apparel in varying sizes. Ellie and I surveyed the goods and decided upon a beautiful teal blue T-shirt and baseball cap set with the show's signature logo on both. I threw in a cute Mermaid pin for kicks. Ellie was thrilled to have a cap that was "Just like my daddy's hat!" she said gleefully! Then a very happy Elise Marie Lara and her equally happy aunt, headed back to our seats.

When the lights dimmed in the theater, signaling the start of the show and then the familiar steel drums sounds of the beloved movie's best known song, "Under the Sea" started, you couldn't pay me enough money to pass up the look on Ellie's face, when she turned to me. It was that combination of wonderment and awe so common on beautifully innocent children that is lost all too soon as they grow. Ellie began to wiggle her shoulders and do a little dance to show her appreciation.

The show opened to an incredibly detailed, tremendously large ship on which stood Prince Eric, along with some seafaring mates discussing the lack of female prospects for the prince to marry. It wasn't long before Ellie and I drifted under the sea where Ariel, her muscular father, King Titan and all her less-than-pretty sisters lived in communal peace with the sea's many friendly creatures of the fish and crustacean persuasions. It is not difficult for child and adult alike to find him or herself drawn to the underwater world of Ariel and her family. Sparing no expense, Disney takes its audience far and beyond all expectations. No matter in what capacity you encounter Disney, you are in its Magic Kingdom! To add to the smooth movements one would find in underwater living, all of the show's characters wear 'heelies', the fun kids' sneakers that have wheels on the heel so kids can get around without actually walking by simply placing one foot in front of the other and tilting back on their heels. That alone is sheer brilliance!

Ellie seemed mesmerized by the sights and sounds of this colorful spectacle. The show's star, Ariel, was not only beautiful beyond words, but she became the little mermaid so convincingly, that you soon forgot that the tail fin attached to her wasn't really her own! On Ellie's face, the smile, the joy and the excitement were not lost on me. I wanted so much to bottle her expressions of surprise, joy, happiness and excitement all rolled into one and somehow save it. That way, I can refer back to it with her, when she is older and has lost some of that sparkle of childhood, while in the business of growing up. Like the Little Lady - wise beyond her years that she is - Miss Ellie knew to show her appreciation by sitting quietly during the scenes and clapping at the end of each number, never once growing too tired to carry out her duties as an audience member.

Of the characters in the musical, she and I differed in opinion on the favorites. For me, the best one of all (aside from Ariel, of course) was Sebastian the beloved, if tremendously troubled crab who is charged by the King to watch over Ariel's mishaps and adventures. The actor who played Sebastian was, bar none, so excellent in his role, that at one point, or another, I was able to forget he was walking upright and...talking in very un-crab-like motions! In fact, it was his talking that was most appealing, as he had the same Island accent that Sebastian had in the film.

For Ellie, however, it was ALL about Flounder. After seeing Flounder first roll up into an underwater scene with a giddy Ariel, Ellie became mesmerized by the actor portraying the beloved friendly fish. The boy was about 8 or 9 years of age - the only child in the play - and his fluffy blond hair was dyed blue in parts to reflect the fish's blue and yellow costume. So enthralled was my niece by this adorable boy that whenever he was not on stage, she questioned me of his whereabouts. For example, when Ariel traded her beautiful voice for legs and moved into Prince Eric's palace, she was anxious to know why Ariel left Flounder behind. I had to explain to her that, like her fish at home, Flounder needed to live in the water and Ariel was out of it now. Content with my response, but still troubled by Flounder's absence, Ellie continued to watch and wait for her much loved fishy to return. And every time he did come around the stage - singing and proclaiming himself as "just a guppy", my little guppy laughed and giggled, repeating his name aloud: "There's Flounder again! He’s a beautiful boy!!" or "He's a guppy, Mani! He’s so cute!" {{giggle, giggle, giggle}}

And so we watched...

When in the drama of Prince Eric's fall from the ship, there was absolutely no question in my mind, let alone her's that the way in which the fall was staged left no doubt that he was indeed falling slowly and haphazardly through water into Ariel's waiting arms. At intermission, which Ellie initially thought was the show's end; she and I made a mad dash for the ladies' room, hoping to circumvent the traffic of bladder-filled women usually seen at such venues. We got there just before it went apes in there. Although she claimed she didn't have to go, I sat her down as a just in case and she did. We washed up and made for the concession stand, which, at this point, we needed. We settled on mini pretzels and Diet Coke in a neat Mermaid cup that resembled her new cap and shirt from our earlier purchase. I explained how the show would come back and that we would know when because the theater's lights would flash on and off to let everyone know to run back to their seats. We waited while noshing on the pretzels and soda until Part 2 began.

It was only when the magnificently portrayed, stunningly attired villianess, Ursula, came on the stage, along with her evil and electrifying eels, that Ellie decided that for this part of the show, she needed to not only be carried, but hugged tightly to ward off her fears. And in that voice that I have come to adore, she stated: "Mani, hug me please," and I complied. I think that Ursula's character, which the actress played as more of a comic relief than the evil one from the film, made the show extraordinary. Again, sparing no expense, the "evil" one's animated, mechanical and constantly changing dress allowed for the mind to go to those fantastical places you go to when you're a child who still believes in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy.


For whatever reason, none that I can think of anyway, this show did not get good critical acclaim when it first opened. Perhaps its reviewers were unable to use their imaginations, to let go of the burdensome expectations of knowledge and education, which leaves us adults incapable, almost, of losing all of our inhibitions and allowing our minds to wander to fables and fairy tales. Yet, having seen the play it its entirety, I can't help but think that unless you can lose yourself under the sea with Ariel, into an imaginative surreal world of fantasy, you can't really come to love and enjoy this production. A lot of what you have to bring to it comes from within yourself - to bring back the magic and wonder of your infantile youth is quite a task for lots of folks. For me it was, no pun intended, child's play.

It is because I can and I chose to revert back to the little girl with the wondrous eyes aglow, that I am able to feel some of what I believe Ellie was feeling at that show. It is because of this, as well, that being there with her literally brought tears to my eyes, as I held her close.

As the show's scenes moved along, reaching the 2-hour mark, little Ellie turned to me and confessed her sleepiness. I begged her to remain awake, as she wouldn't want to miss the end. Making a concentrated effort to not only experience the whole thing, but also to please her dear Titi Mani, she held out until the very last note was sung in Ariel's painfully beautiful, clear and childlike voice.

At show's end, when I whispered in her ear that we would clap for everyone, as they came to the stage and bowed, we were two happy and content little girls. When the show got a standing ovation, I told her that this is what happens when you really, really like the show. I propped her up on the back of the chair in front of us, so she could see it all and commit it to her bank of childhood memories to maybe share one day with her own child.

Bundling up and heading happily out into the frigid night, Ellie and I found our way back to the car to chat on the ride home about the show. But not before Miss Ellie befriend a big and tall NYC police officer just outside the theater and told him that she loved the show and that her favorite was not the little mermaid herself, but her adorable Flounder. And when the friendly officer smiled and said: “You’re cute as a button!” Miss Ellie graciously said thank you and lowered her eyes in a gesture of deep appreciation.

She might have been as sleepy as could be, but the lure and excitement of NYC lights all bright and awake, held her attention until we crossed into the Midtown Tunnel. And then just as she was midway through a sentence about her beloved Flounder, Ellie dozed off with a smile on her lips for the long ride home.

For me, there is something ethereal about being at that show with her, about hugging Ellie, about having her on my lap, close by and feeling her heart beat shift with the changing scenes on stage. For me, no amount of money could equate what I get in return for my efforts. To live the show through her eyes is an experience I won't change for anything and hope to never forget. It isn't about The Little Mermaid anymore, but about the experience of the magic, the wonder, the beauty and the fantasy of living the show through her happy, dancing eyes.